Alaska Oil
Odyssey
Reporter Terry FitzPatrick travels rugged Arctic roads and
sails heavy Pacific seas to investigate if the oil industry can
prevent another disaster like the Exxon Valdez.
Three-Part Documentary Series 1999
National Public Radio’s Living on Earth
Alaska Oil Odyssey
Part One: The Drilling Fields
Host Introduction Recent mergers in the oil industry are causing concern about the
power these huge companies will have to win approval for drilling in sensitive areas.
The merger between British Petroleum and ARCO is focusing attention on one such
place--the North Slope of Alaska.
BP and ARCO claim their current fields there are running dry, and pressure is building
to expand into surrounding wilderness. The companies contend that new technology
allows them to co-exist with nature. But environmentalists point to problems with
wildlife--and illegal dumping of waste--to argue against expansion.
As part of our continuing special coverage of oil in Alaska, we sent Living on Earth’s
Terry FitzPatrick to the drilling fields near Prudhoe Bay.
(Drill rig sounds: motors, hydraulic equip., metal tools.)
FitzPatrick An oil rig is a dirty and noisy place, a juggernaut of machinery that juts 15
stories above the treeless tundra. Outside it’s impossibly cold. But inside this derrick, a
crew of roustabouts in grimy coveralls is aiming for a fresh pocket of oil thousands of
feet below.
Worker We’re getting ready to start drilling here.
(Drill squeals)
FitzPatrick Drill rigs are stark intruders in this remote landscape. And in years past,
protecting the fragile environment wasn’t a high priority. Driller Bob Ingram has worked
the arctic fields for 22 years.
Ingram Back in the old days when we first started it was just cram and jam and get the
hole done, and go on about your business. But it’s just a much cleaner environment
nowadays.
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 2
(Piston and fluid sounds)
FitzPatrick One improvement involves the chemical soup used to lubricate the drill bit,
a slimy fluid known as “mud.” Thousands of gallons of mud are needed to drill a well.
And in the past, Mr. Ingram says used mud was dumped in open pits.
Ingram Yeah, we’d just dump it and it would go out in a reserve pit. It was just a big
mud hole.
FitzPatrick Lead, benzene, mercury and other chemicals often leaked from the pits
onto the tundra. But these days, things are different. When a new well is drilled, the
used mud is disposed of thousands of feet underground.
Ingram We inject it. There’s no reserve pits, there’s no dumping. It’s a lot more
environmentally clean.
(Drill equipment sounds.)
FitzPatrick Another advance involves the drills. Rigs can now drill diagonally, snaking
for miles in every direction from a single spot on the surface. The industry claims these
innovations have helped shrink the typical drill site by 90-percent.
Chappell The goal is to minimize the number of disturbances that you see on the
surface of the earth, so that our impact on the wildlife that use the areas is greatly
reduced. So, fewer footprints, and smaller footprints.
FitzPatrick Ronnie Chappell is a spokesman for ARCO. The smaller human footprint
he describes is vital to the industry’s future. The oil fields of Alaska’s North Slope have
been the richest strike in American history. But after two decades of production, the
active fields are beginning to play out. The only way to keep the Trans-Alaska Pipeline
and related facilities profitable is to open new frontiers.
Chappell We’re doing everything we can to squeeze all the oil we can out of existing
fields, but that’s not going to keep us supplied for the long term. And if this nation is
going to continue to produce a significant portion of the oil it consumes, we’re going to
need access to new areas.
FitzPatrick The problem is those new areas are environmentally sensitive. And many
people simply don’t trust Big Oil.
(Drill rig sounds fade out)
The industry has a long record of problems--the most recent black mark being a probe
into the illegal dumping of toxic waste, the first criminal prosecution in North Slope
history.
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 3
A contractor for BP, British Petroleum, illegally injected hundreds of barrels of solvents
and other toxic wastes into the ground. Deborah Smith prosecutes environmental
crimes for the U.S. Justice Department.
Smith It costs over a thousand dollars a barrel to ship them off and dispose of them
properly. So rather than that cost being borne, it was put down the well.
FitzPatrick British Petroleum reported the problem to authorities. Ultimately the drilling
contractor pleaded guilty to 15 charges and paid a $3 million dollar fine. One
employee went to prison.
BP contends the episode was an isolated mistake, as the company changed the way it
deals with waste. BP’s director of environmental policy, Steven Taylor, points out that
the dumping was exposed by an employee who attended a BP class about proper
waste disposal.
Taylor We had gone from a situation where most waste were just ‘throwed in the pits,
over to a system whereby we had achieved zero discharge. Now, true, there was a
violation of environmental law. But I regard it as somewhat positive when the training
that you provide can identify those kinds of deficiencies and bring ‘em to light so they
can be corrected.
FitzPatrick However, court records reveal that’s only part of the story. The FBI found
the dumping had been happening for years, and might have been widespread. And a
whistleblower turned over a cache of secret tapes, revealing that all along supervisors
knew they were breaking the law. Tim Burgess is an Assistant U.S. Attorney who
prosecuted the case.
Burgess The whistleblower had originally tried to talk to his immediate supervisors on
the North Slope to have the practice stopped. And I think he was somewhat frustrated
and a little concerned that the practice continued. So he hid this tape recorder on him.
FitzPatrick The tapes have not been released. But one supervisor is quoted as
saying: “It’s illegal, but all the rigs are doing it.” Another is quoted ridiculing the
oversight of waste disposal by a BP technician. Quote: “He’s got to be an absolute idiot
not to think that it’s being sent somewhere, and in our case downhole.”
Despite this evidence, British Petroleum denies illegal dumping is widespread. But the
case is not closed, and the criminal probe continues.
(Truck starts up and begins to drive)
Waste isn’t the only environmental problem on the North Slope. This region is one of
America’s last bastions of wilderness, home to wolves, polar bears, and caribou. But
driving through the sprawling oil fields, you now pass more than 2000 wells and 1500
miles of pipelines. There are landfills, airports, power plants, even a ramshackle trailer
town called “Deadhorse.”
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 4
Joyce We do have an industrial complex here in Prudhoe and Kuparuk...
FitzPatrick My tour guide is ARCO wildlife expert Mike Joyce. He began doing field
work on the North Slope when none of this was here.
Joyce I remember fondly having to camp on the tundra. And I liked the night sounds.
You’d hear the caribou calves, you’d hear the loons. It was just a great time to lay there
in your sleeping bag and listen to all those sounds sort of sing you to sleep.
FitzPatrick (to Joyce) And now we’ve had a generation of oil production up here, have
you noticed any difference?
Joyce I have not seen any change in caribou or bird populations that we been
monitoring over the last 24 years, in the way they behave or distribute and move around
the coastal plane.
FitzPatrick In fact, Mr. Joyce says caribou populations have increased, due largely to
a warming arctic climate.
(Truck sounds fade out)
Now, if you think that sounds too good to be true--that these oil fields have zero impact
on wildlife--then there are plenty of government and university scientists who’ll say
you’re right. Professor David Klein of the University of Alaska:
Klein It’s not valid to say: “Well, there’s been no impact on the caribou.” It’s so easy
to say: “Well, population increased therefore there was no impact.” It’s not that simple.
(Summer sounds of water, birds, caribou.)
FitzPatrick During summer, the North Slope is a magnet for wildlife. Caribou come
here to give birth. So do migratory birds, who fly here from throughout the hemisphere.
This is one of North America’s biggest maternity wards. But Professor Klein says the oil
fields have displaced some animals--particularly caribou--from some of the best habitat.
Klein Cows that are about to calve and right after they have newborn calves, stay
away from roads, pipelines and oil field facilities. And as a consequence they have
abandoned much of their old calving area.
FitzPatrick This has caused decreased body weight among mothers and babies. Oil
industry researchers say these changes aren’t significant, because overall the herd has
grown. But Dr. Klein says the problems might effect the caribou’s long-term survival.
It’s the same for birds. There’s no conclusive evidence that the oil fields have harmed
populations overall. But certain species are avoiding parts of the region. And
predators--such as foxes and ravens--may be moving-in, because of garbage
dumpsters and handouts of food from workers.
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 5
Dr. Klein says these subtle impacts are glossed-over in studies conducted by industry.
(Animal, water sounds fade out.)
Klein Sometimes I don’t think their science is very objective, and I think they do make
an effort to design studies not as good science, but to try to counter some of the other
studies that have been done--for example--by the Alaska Department of Fish and
Game--showing that avoidance is occurring.
FitzPatrick Surprisingly, Steven Taylor, British Petroleum’s environmental director,
agrees.
Taylor In the past, what he is saying was true. In other words, the oil industry has
been guilty of doing extensive scientific studies and then using those studies in the P.R.
arena. BP made a conscientious decision to stop that practice.
FitzPatrick Not everyone agrees the practice has stopped. And the conflicting studies
raise what may be the most important question about oil’s impact in the arctic. Whom
to believe. Critics complain that for 20 years, regulators have allowed the oil fields to
expand one facility at a time, without ever evaluating the cumulative impact. Ann Rothe
directs the environmental law firm Trustees for Alaska.
Rothe They view it little piece by little piece and so what’s happened over time is this
tremendous stretch of development that no one has stepped back and taken a good
look at. No one has stepped back and taken a look at the big picture.
FitzPatrick Ms. Rothe’s group has filed a lawsuit to stop the latest new development
until a cumulative assessment is conducted. Meantime, the oil companies are taking
their case for expansion to the public.
ARCO television commercial music “Yeah, we can make it happen...”
FitzPatrick Commercials like this one are running frequently these days on Alaska
television. Against a backdrop of birds and butterflies, an ARCO employee promises a
new way of doing business.
ARCO Commercial It’s good for the environment, it’s good for ARCO, it’s good for the
state. It’s a win-win situation. And that makes me feel pretty darn good. Music: We can
make it happen, yeah!
FitzPatrick Critics complain that slick ads like this distort oil’s true impact. Sylvia Ward
directs the Northern Alaska Environmental Center.
Ward This endless stream of half truths has saturated public opinion up here. Ad,
after ad, after ad. That make you want to feel the oil industry is doing so much good
and that they recognize problems they’ve had and they’re doing better.
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 6
FitzPatrick Despite the industry’s changes, Ms. Ward says Alaska still can’t have both
a pristine environment and an endless oil boom. But the hearts and minds effort has
brought results. The Clinton administration recently okayed limited oil development on
federal land to the west of the current fields. And Alaska politicians continue to argue
for opening what may be the biggest North Slope prize, the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge to the east.
(Oil rig sounds.)
Whatever happens, both sides agree Alaska’s arctic is at a critical point, possibly as
important a moment as the original debate over building the Alaska pipeline a
generation ago. The question is: will the oil companies ever leave the North Slope, or
will they stay until they’ve pumped out the last drop?
For Living on Earth, I’m Terry FitzPatrick in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 7
Alaska Oil Odyssey
Part Two: Pipeline Perils
Host Introduction No facility is as vital to America’s domestic energy supply as
the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. 20 percent of the oil produced in the U.S. flows
through this pipe from Alaska’s North Slope to the harbor where tankers are
loaded in Valdez.
Critics contend, though, that perhaps no other oil facility poses a bigger
environmental risk. They complain that decades of neglect have increased the
chance of a major spill. And they say the oil industry isn’t prepared to respond if
a spill occurs.
Pipeline officials admit there’ve been problems, but insist the environment is not
in danger. As part of our continuing special coverage of oil in Alaska, we sent
Living on Earth’s Terry FitzPatrick to take a closer look.
(Arctic wind sounds, walking in snow.)
FitzPatrick When you first see the Trans-Alaska Pipeline snaking across the
snow, you can’t help but be impressed. It’s a single silver thread, on stilts above
the frozen tundra, four feet wide and 800 miles long.
FitzPatrick (to Green) Wow, it just goes and goes and goes.
Green Yeah, this being the start of the pipeline and being such a flat surface on
the North Slope, you can see for a long distance.
FitzPatrick Tracy Green is a spokeswoman for Alyeska, the industry consortium
that operates the pipeline.
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 8
Green You can see a pretty good example of the zig-zag of the pipeline from up
here. And that allows for movement from either earthquakes or seismic
movement or changes in the temperature of the oil.
FitzPatrick Ms. Green is my tour guide on an Oil Odyssey along the length of
the pipeline from the arctic coast to the tanker terminal at Valdez Harbor.
(Pump station sounds, jets, pumps.)
Our first stop is Pump Station One, where jet engines push 48 million gallons of
hot, pressurized oil down the line every day. Here, I can’t help but think how
dangerous the pipeline can be. While walking through a maze of plumbing, I
discover I’m one spark away from disaster.
(Alarm test sounds.)
Before I can enter the pump room with my tape recorder, technician Rick
Weinrick must test the air with a safety sniffer.
Weinrick We want to make sure that we’re not going into an area where there’s
a combustible mixture of gas. Because if there is, and you move a switch in that
tape recorder, you could actually trigger an explosion.
(Sounds of entering the pump room)
FitzPatrick Today, the pump room is safe. But I wonder what would happen if
something did go wrong. Mr. Weinrick says the station is equipped with special
valves and tanks, just in case.
Weinrick These three valves behind you here, can go to full open in two
seconds, so that all of the oil goes into the tanks instead of down the line.
FitzPatrick (to Weinrick) Two seconds?
Weinrick Right.
FitzPatrick (to Weinrick) So when things happen, they happen fast?
Weinrick They sure do, they sure do.
(Pump room sounds fade out)
FitzPatrick This idea stays with me during my journey along the line. This is no
simple drain pipe--it’s a complex machine, designed to delicately pass through
some of the most spectacular wilderness on earth.
(Drive along sounds)
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 9
In its 800 miles, the pipeline crosses three mountain ranges and 34 rivers. I’m
traveling beside it in a heavy-duty four-wheeler, on an icy ribbon of gravel. It’s 14
below zero, and ice fog has coated the radio antenna so heavily it hums like a
tuning fork.
(Odd humming sound)
Before construction, environmentalists said it would be too dangerous to run a
pipeline through such a rugged and hostile landscape. But Alyeska’s Tracy
Green says they’ve been proven wrong. A generation later, she says, workers
still feel a sense of accomplishment.
Green There is a real sense of pride. Because it is something that hasn’t been
done anywhere else in the world. And it was done so well and so safely. And
with a lot of the Alaskan environment in mind.
(Driving sounds fade out)
FitzPatrick Construction didn’t go quite as smoothly as Ms. Green suggests,
and in the first five years of operation there were several big spills--totaling more
than a million gallons of oil. But since then, nothing major has gone wrong. Still,
some Alaskans worry that could change in an instant.
Fineberg It’s now 21, going on 22 years old, and as it ages the risk of a spill
increases.
FitzPatrick Richard Fineberg is a former oil policy analyst for the Alaska
governor’s office, and author of a report called “Pipeline in Peril.” It was
prepared three years ago for an environmental watchdog group. And it
catalogues a history of problems, everything from corroded pipe and faulty
wiring, to sloppy repairs and risky operating procedures. Mr. Fineberg says
these problems arose primarily because for years, maintenance wasn’t a priority.
Fineberg The fact that the pipeline had been engineered and designed very
carefully carried it through nearly 20 years where they cut corners on their
maintenance and didn’t pay that much attention to the line. It allowed for
complacency.
FitzPatrick Complacency on the part of Alyeska was one factor that turned the
1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill into a disaster. And when it comes to assessing the
state of the pipeline, Mr. Fineberg was not alone in sounding an alarm.
A federal inspection in 1993 uncovered dozens of places where the pipe was
unlikely to withstand an earthquake. Also, electrical wiring was not up to code,
the spill detection system was inadequate, and firefighting equipment was poorly
maintained.
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 10
Federal inspectors said some of these problems were severe enough to create
an “imminent threat” of an oil spill. “It is generally only a matter of time,” they
wrote, “before some relatively benign accident sequence expands into a
catastrophic event.”
(Earth-moving equipment sounds)
Since the inspection report, Alyeska says it has spent millions to correct nearly
all the problems, and work continues on the rest. During my trip, I could see
maintenance crews out with bulldozers and back-hoes, even in the bitter cold of
winter.
Alyeska Vice President Bill Howitt admits the company did fall behind on some
safety measures. But he says the most important component of the line is as
sound today as the day it was built.
(Equipment sounds fade out)
Howitt The 48-inch tube, the actual pipe, is extremely strong. It has suffered
very little degradation. We have ever-improving ways to monitor that and to
know whether it’s corroding, whether it’s settling. I don’t believe the risk of a spill
will ever increase if we keep maintaining the pipeline.
FitzPatrick However, a recent incident raises serious questions about the
quality of Alyeska’s ongoing maintenance and repair operations, and its
commitment to safety. It involves the most important environmental safeguard
on the pipeline: the 62 remote-control valves that shut like water-tight doors on a
ship during an emergency. Because the pipe holds enough oil to fill eight
supertankers, these valves are vital to prevent the entire line from draining onto
the tundra.
Last fall, Mr. Howitt abruptly suspended a project to upgrade the valves, when
company inspectors found wiring that was not up to code. The complaints led to
open feuds among workers in the field, and harassment of the inspectors.
Mr. Howitt ultimately replaced the project managers and clarified inspection
standards, and the work is set to resume soon. He insists the incident should
not be cause for concern.
Howitt For me, in reality, shutting down some work should inspire confidence.
You know, ideally the work should be perfect right from the start. But the fact that
we have the guts to say I’m stopping the work, because it’s not the way I need to
have it, actually for me, if I was looking at another industry that would inspire a
lot of confidence.
FitzPatrick But the incident also suggests that a poisonous atmosphere lingers
inside Alyeska. Eight years ago, a congressional investigation revealed a
pattern of harassment and intimidation of employees who blew the whistle on
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 11
safety concerns. Jerry Brossia, who directs a federal-state oversight task force
called the Joint Pipeline Office, worries that atmosphere hasn’t completely
changed.
Brossia The corporate culture at Alyeska is still such that 35 to 40 percent of
the people are afraid to report safety, integrity and environmental problems. So
that indicates to me that the mindset and attitude is still a little shy of what it
ought to be. If we were in the nuclear business, I don’t think you’d feel very good
if 35 or 40 percent of your employees were afraid to report a safety problem.
FitzPatrick Environmentalists say the situation is serious enough to warrant
another top-to-bottom independent audit of the pipe, to determine if it is safe.
Meantime, they’re focusing on another unknown: is Alyeska prepared if a spill
does occur?
After the Exxon Valdez, Alyeska was forced to improve spill response on water.
Now, its ocean-going team is widely regarded as the best outfit anywhere. On
land, though, it may be a different story.
(Outdoor sounds, walking in snow)
Criner This is part of our oil spill equipment. We have one vacuum truck
located at each facility that we could use to actually pick up the oil itself.
FitzPatrick Back on the line, at Station Five just above the Arctic Circle,
Alyeska’s Jim Criner walks me through one of the pipeline’s largest spill
response centers.
(Garage sounds, jiggling hardware, tapping boxes)
The garage is packed with river boats and snowmobiles, a helicopter, and crate
after crate of specialized hardware.
FitzPatrick (to Criner) You could lead an expedition with all this stuff.
Criner Just about. Some of this stuff is actually some pretty high tech stuff that
you wouldn’t expect to see.
FitzPatrick Mr. Criner takes spill response seriously.
Criner Being Alaskan, I think you really take it personally. You want to make
sure nothing happens to affect this area up here because it’s beautiful country
and it’s my home. I was an Alaskan long before I became an Alyeska employee.
FitzPatrick However recent volatility in oil prices has prompted Alyeska to make
deep budget and staffing cuts. And because production has fallen on the North
Slope and the pipeline is running far below capacity, Alyeska has mothballed
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 12
four of its 11 pumping stations. That means that along several stretches of pipe,
there’s virtually no one left to respond to a spill.
(Pump station ambience fades out)
This has left the state of Alaska uneasy. Ed Meggert coordinates spill prevention
and response for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
Meggert You can only streamline so far and then the chances of something
happen start to increase. And the chances that you can’t react properly also
increase at that point. And I think we’re at that point.
FitzPatrick Alyeska was ordered to draw-up a new spill response plan that
includes more personnel, more equipment, and a dramatic increase in the
number of training exercises. But Jerry Brossia at the Joint Pipeline Office says
it wasn’t easy to get the oil companies to agree to these improvements.
Brossia There’s been belt tightening and more questioning and more back-andforth negotiating on various items. For example, this oil spill plan was a year and
a half overdue. And it’s a simple fact: are the companies going to spend the
money, and do they have the people to get things done?
FitzPatrick Environmental analyst Richard Fineberg says the new spill plan,
completed last fall, looks good on paper. But the bruising battle to complete it,
leaves him skeptical Alyeska will make it work.
Fineberg This company has a lousy history of not living up to its promises. I
hope that they will at this point. There are those in Alyeska trying to change the
culture. The president, Bob Malone deserves great credit for the openness and
the effort. But clearly something is still wrong.
(Valdez control room sounds)
FitzPatrick At my final stop along the line--the pipeline command center in
Valdez--things look well under control. Operators keep close watch on a
complex network of computer terminals, responding to even the slightest alarm.
(Alarm sound)
Controller (on radio to field technician) O.C.C., Val.
Field Technician Val, this is David at 12.
Controller Yes David...
FitzPatrick But in the end, the company’s ability to prevent and handle a spill
depends on when and where there’s trouble. The growing reliance on
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 13
technology--instead of people--underscores what many environmentalists
complained about even before the line was built.
For 800-miles oil surges across the heart of Alaska, a vast region where often
there’s not a single soul for miles to watch over it. The fear remains that a tiny
glitch could escalate into a tragic chain of events, and do the arctic interior, what
the Exxon Valdez did to the waters of Prince William Sound.
For Living on Earth, I’m Terry FitzPatrick at the control center of the Trans-Alaska
Pipeline in Valdez, Alaska.
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 14
Alaska Oil Odyssey
Part Three: Supertanker Safety
Host introduction Every month, 50 supertankers sail through Prince William
Sound to bring oil to rest of the United States and countries overseas.
In the wake of the Exxon Valdez, congress passed sweeping reforms to make
tankers safer, and force the industry to prepare for spills in the future. Living on
Earth’s Terry FitzPatrick has been investigating how well these reforms have
worked. The number of U.S. oil spills is down, but critics say the industry has a
long way to go to make oil transport safe.
(Ship horn blows, various sounds on the bridge.)
Pilot on bridge radio: Traffic, ARCO Alaska preparing to get underway from
berth three.
FitzPatrick A light snow is falling as the supertanker ARCO Alaska gets ready
to sail from the Valdez oil terminal.
(Deck sounds of topping off tanks)
On deck, the crew is topping-off the tanks containing 38 million gallons of oil.
While in the captain’s cabin, a unique procedure is underway.
(Equipment testing beeps)
Security Guard (to captain) Have you consumed any alcohol in the last four
hours?
Captain No.
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 15
FitzPatrick Valdez is the only port in America where a security guard gives the
captain a breathalyzer test. The ship cannot depart if the machine detects any
trace of alcohol.
(Captain blows into machine, testing beep sounds)
Security Guard (to captain) Okay. Thank You.
FitzPatrick (to security guard) What’s the number?
Security Guard (to FitzPatrick) Point Zero, Zero, Zero.
Security Guard (to captain) Bon Voyage.
FitzPatrick Breath tests are part of a strict new world for tanker crews. ARCO
captain Karen Devine is part of this changing culture.
Devine Today’s oil industry really demands a person that wants to do more than
just be the salty dog. We’re no longer out at sea where nobody knows us and
where we do a job that nobody understands.
(Bridge sounds, getting underway.)
Captain (to crew member) Rudder midship.
Crew Member Midship the Rudder.
Captain Engine slow ahead.
FitzPatrick As the voyage begins, it’s easy to spot other safety improvements.
Tug boats now escort tankers through their entire eight-hour passage in Prince
William Sound. On the bridge, there’s a veritable video arcade of new navigation
devices, including a computer that constantly plots the ship’s location and
heading on electronic maps. A transponder automatically relays the information
to a coast guard traffic control center.
Captain (to crew member) Let’s come Right to 153.
Crew Member 153.
FitzPatrick As darkness falls and the weather worsens, the importance of
improved instrumentation is clear. The wind is howling and the snow is so heavy
the crew can’t see past the bow. Captain Devine peers at the glowing screen of
the collision-avoidance radar as she passes the shoals where the Exxon Valdez
made history.
Captain (to crew member) Come right to 150.
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 16
Crew Member Right to 150.
FitzPatrick The equipment and procedures on this ship are a direct result of
congressional action that followed the Exxon accident.
(Bridge sounds fade out)
According to Jim Polson--who edits a trade newsletter called the Oil Spill
Intelligence Report--tanker regulations now include a powerful incentive that has
forced industry to invest in spill prevention.
Polson The oil spill act basically made it clear that if you spill oil, you’re
responsible for what happens. It doesn’t matter whether somebody else hit you,
or whether it was an act of God, it’s your responsibility to deal with it.
FitzPatrick So far, this approach seems to be working. There’s been a steep
drop in tanker accidents in U.S. waters. This contrasts with a only a moderate
decline in other countries. However, environmentalists are concerned that some
of the new safety regulations apply only to Alaska’s Prince William Sound, and
haven’t been adopted elsewhere in the United States.
(Waves at Puget Sound)
In Puget Sound, where tankers deliver crude oil to refineries near Seattle, tug
escorts aren’t required for the entire trip. Local officials have been trying to
develop a full escort system, but industry has resisted, claiming it isn’t needed.
The situation infuriates Kathy Fletcher of the environmental group People for
Puget Sound.
Fletcher After the Exxon Valdez spill occurred, the protection system that was
built in Prince William Sound exceeds the protection levels anywhere in this
country and possibly anywhere in the world. The message to us is, we aren’t
Alaska Oil Odyssey Page 17
going to be taken seriously until we have that catastrophe and that’s exactly the
wrong order for these things to be done.
FitzPatrick The continuing struggle also involves a fight that many thought had
been settled. The battle over double-hulls.
(Sounds of ship crashing through waves)
In the bowels of a supertanker at sea, you can hear why environmentalists are
concerned. Waves crashing into the bow sound like a thunderstorm. Tanker
hulls can bend like paper clips in heavy seas, creating hull fractures that allow oil
to escape. The second-skin of a double-hulled ship prevents these cracks from
leaking, and provides extra protection if a ship runs aground.
However, 80 percent of the world’s tankers still have single hulls. Shippers have
been ordered to retire these vessels when they reach a certain age and replace
them with double-hulled boats. But some companies have used loopholes to
avoid the law. Right now, only one double-hulled ship is under construction in
the U.S. Sally Lentz of the environmental group Ocean Advocates, monitors the
shipping industry.
Lentz I think they’re coming up against the deadline, and they haven’t
necessarily prepared for it. So they’re looking for ways to extend the life of their
existing fleet. This is despite the fact that we have plenty of ship building
capacity in this country to build those double hulls. In fact it would be a boon to
the ship building industry.
FitzPatrick Although the oil industry recently set record annual profits of $32
billion, currently oil prices are depressed. And some shippers think the U.S.
should allow engineers to develop less-costly alternatives than a double hulled
vessel. Attorney Jonathan Benner represents the International Association of
Independent Tanker Owners.
Benner At the end of the day, safety has to be something that’s achievable.
We could legislate that you have quintuple hulls, and if nobody can afford to do
it, we aren’t going to get them.
FitzPatrick There’s widespread acceptance that eventually all tankers will be
double-hulled, but the deadline for converting all ships is still more than 15 years
away. Meantime, scientists have been focusing their attention away from
tankers, and toward other kinds of oil spills.
(Discussion sounds in room)
This is the “war room” at the Seattle office of NOAA, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. Here, a scientific strike team provides technical
support for spill response crews nationwide. Marine biologist Alan Mearns says
tankers are no longer the biggest culprit.
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Mearns Just this week we have one pipeline spill, two blowouts from oil
platforms in the gulf, one freighter on a beach in Oregon. We’ve got six spills,
and none of them are tankers, they’re all something else.
FitzPatrick This team has studied the aftermath of the Exxon spill, and strives
to avoid the mistakes which allowed that oil slick to wash ashore. Scientists
have developed a new set of tactics and technology to keep oil off the beach.
The key is to be prepared, and act without delay.
(Oil spill scene ambience, surf and buoy bell)
One of the biggest tests for this aggressive approach occurred early this year in
Oregon, where a storm blew the freighter New Carissa onto the beach. The
freighter carried 400,000 gallons of oil in its fuel tanks. As pounding surf began
to crack the hull, fuel began to leak. So, officials blew holes in the tanks, and
dropped napalm to burn the fuel before any more could escape. Mike Szerlog is
with the Oregon Department of Environmental quality .
Szerlog What would most likely go to the beach is now being transferred to the
air. It is a tradeoff. We do have pollutants now in the air. However, we feel
there’s less of a hazard to human health and the environment.
FitzPatrick About 70,000 gallons of fuel did leak, but officials considered that
amount to be manageable. It was about one-half of one-percent of the oil spilled
by the Exxon Valdez.
(Spill scene sounds fade to silence)
(ARCO tanker deck sounds fade up, ship horn, anchor chain)
Back on the tanker ARCO Alaska, the crew gets the command to drop anchor.
It’s the end of another perfect run. In fact, this ship has spilled less than a barrel
of oil in 20 years of service. Captain Devine thinks the memory of the Exxon
Valdez will avert future problems.
Devine I think the spill affected everyone everywhere. And I would like to
believe that all companies are working to prevent that kind of disaster again.
FitzPatrick But not everyone is so sure. Recently, there’ve been a couple close
calls where large tankers actually collided. To environmentalist Sally Lentz, it
comes down to a question of luck, and when industry’s luck will run out.
Lentz There’s going to be another spill. The only question is where, and how
much and what ship.
(Ship horn)
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FitzPatrick For Living on Earth, I’m Terry FitzPatrick on board the supertanker
ARCO Alaska.
(Gull flies by, ship sounds fade to silence)
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